Stoker construction



March 14, 1939. wl T. HANNA STOKER CONSTRUCTION O riginal Filed June 9, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet l kvm,

INVENTOR.

0 5 n Y n. E m n /vA lm.. ff/, .WM wy nD March 14, 1939.

W. T. HANNA STOKER CONSTRUCTION 2 sheets-sheet 2 v Original Filed June 9, 1930 N INVENTOR /l/////0/77 Mom/25m /70/7/20 89mm?, il awa y ATTORNEYS Vcated'in the following claims.

Patented Mu. 14;;4939

lUNI-TED` STATES PATENTioF-Flc Application June 9, 1930, Serial No. 459,996 Renewed October 291936 `siv claims.

Aprevent fuel becoming wedged within the tender v hopper.

-Othei objects will be in part evident and in `partv pointed out hereinafter. 'I'h'e invention accordingly'consists in the vf ea- 'tures of construction, combinations of elements,

and.-v arrangements of parts as will be exemplifiedl in-the structure to be hereinafter described and the scope of the` application 'of which will be indivIn the accompanying' drawings in which'are shown the 4features of a selected embodiment of the invention:

Fig. l is a side elevation partially in section; Figs. 2 and 3 are enlarged detail sectional views; Fig. 4 is a transverse sectionalviewxsubstantially on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2, and

Figs. 5 andl6 are transverse sectional viewsv on n conduit I6 is connected at its rear end to .anextension I'I of the hopper I0 by a flexible or ball and socket joint as I9 or other ksuitable means.

The forwardend of the conduit I6 communi- Cates with a housing 22 which receives the fuel delivered by theA conveyor I5 and causes it to pass to the firing opening 23yof the fire box ,24 yof the locomotive. Below this housingis locateda. suitable power device as 25 whichv drives the conveyors I4 and I5 throughthe medium of shafting such as a telescopic shaft -26 and a gear (not shown) there may be an occasional clogging of the fuely 4which mesheszwith a gear 2I keyedonja shaft 28 supported in a housing 29 having `a bearing portion 30, such housing being secured t'o "the rear as` orlin any other suitable manner.

tages.

connected at itsfront end to the rear end of the conveyor I4. The constructionof the housing 29 and the mechanism inA the vicinity thereof is shown in detail in Figs. 2 and 4.

In order that the conveyor I4 may be quickly and easily detached from the shaft 28," thus facilitating the removal and replacement of a worn out conveyor or the replacement of this shaft when necessary, a suitable form of coupling between this conveyor and the shaft maybe pro--l vided. As herein shown this coupling includes a socket member 3l secured in any suitable manneras by pin or rivet 33 to the rear end of the hub 32 of the conveyor, or it may be integral therewith. The rear portion of this socket member 3| fits over a flanged member as 34 and -is rigidly but detachably secured thereto by bolts The member 34, as shown, isprovided with a square holeI 36. extending axially therethrough" and within this fits the square forwardv end 31' of the shaft 28 so that relative rotation of these parts is prevented. The member 34 maybe secured endwise on this shaftin any suitable manner as by a dowel pin 38 extending therethrough Aand held in position by socket y:il as shown infFig. 4.

The uncovering of this` pin allows its withdrawal and the shaft 28 can be withdrawn .through the rear end of the'housing 29. On the reduced rear portion 39 of the yshaft 28 is fitted the inner meinber 40 of a ball race thrust bearing 4I, the outer member 42 of such bearing being. fitted loosely within a recess 43 in the rear end-of a cap plate 44 which is rigidly but detachably secured to the housing 29. The outer member 42 of this ball race is held in `positionagainst movement axially ofthe shaft 28 by any suitable means such asa cap 42' which may be rigidly secured to the end of the cap 44. The rearend ofthe shaft l28 is threaded and a nut 45 thereon serves to secure the inner member 40 of the thrust bearing on said shaft. Y This bearing serves to resist the end thrust of the conveyor I4 when such conveyor is rotated in` either direction, but on account of the loose fit of the outer member 42 within vthe recess 43, the bearing doesl not support the shaft 28 annularly. The provision of this bearing `which serves to resist the-end thrust of the conveyer inv either of the axial directions,has many advan- For example, in the actual operation of such a stoker conveyer, as is above described,

lin the conveyer. This clogging is readily broken.

rby reversing the screw conveyer which permits the clearing of such an obstruction. In the present construction, which is adapted to take the end thrust from either of the axial directions, the shaft is supported in a non-frictional manner, in Whichever direction it is rotated.

As has been previously pointed out, the conveyor I4 and shaft 28 may be readily disconnected. This may be accomplished by merely removing the bolts 35. In this manner the conveyor i4 may be withdrawn forwardly from the tender hopper and repaired or replaced as required, it being understood that the tender and the locomotive are disconnected at the time. The shaft 28 with gear 2 in place thereon may be removed from the housing 29 after the conveyor has been disengaged in the manner described, by

removing the cap plate M and drawing the shaft rearwardlyv from the bearing 30. The gear may then be easily removed from the shaft.

It will be observed that in the particular form of the construction shown, the hub portion 32 of the conveyor l tapers in the direction in which the fuel advances and the conveyor is supported only at each end thereof, thus facilitating the freepassage of the fuel throughout the entire length of the tender hopper. Furthermore, in order that the operation of the conveying mechanism may not be interfered with by any extraneous matter becoming wedged between the periphery of the conveyor and the wall of the tender hopper, I provide that the extent of the clearance space between the periphery of the conveyor and thewall of the hopper shall increase toward the delivery end of the conveyor. This is here accomplished by having the bottom wall of the tender hopper arranged to increase in radius as it approaches the forward end` of the hopper.

It is also desirable that means be provided for the ultimate removal from the hopper ofany such extraneous matter and to this end I have provided an opening in the bottom of the hopper which is normally closed as by means of a door 68 (Fig. 5), which in this instance is arranged to be hinged at G9 on projecting lugs 50 extending from the wall ofV the hopper. Furthermore. I have provided that the door d8 may be opened and closed by means of a link pitman or reach rod 5l pivotally connected at 52 to an arm 53 extending from the door, the said reach rod 5| extending upwardly through and above the deck of the tender and provided with a handle portion 54 for convenient operation. It is also preferable to have the reach rod 5i arranged to be locked in its upward position in any suitable manner as by means of a projection 55 which may be arranged to hook over the floor of the deck.

Referring to Fig. 5, it will be seen that the inner surface of the door 48 is arranged to give annular bearing support to the conveyor I4 at a point in .line with the crushing device 56 which is secured within the tender hopper at its delivery end. Inasmuch as the greatest radial pressure on the conveyor occurs as a result of the crushing operation, the annular bearing of the conveyor directly in line with the crushing device is subject to considerable wear and must from time to time be renewed. Thus it will be seen that having this door 48 form the support, this heavy duty bearing may be cheaply and easily renewed when necessary.

It'will be seen that there is provided a construction of an essentially practical nature Iin which the several objects of this invention are attained.

As many possible embodiments may be made of the above invention without departing from the scope thereof, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a. limiting sense.

I claim:

1. In a locomotive stoker, in combination, a fuel hopper having a portion arranged in the form of a trough, a spiral conveyor mounted for rotationwithin said trough, a crushing device mounted within said troughv adjacent the delivery end thereof and partially vencompassing said conveyor, and a door hinged to open and close an opening in the bottom wall of said trough adjacent the delivery end thereof and having its inner face arranged to provide bearing support for said conveyor.

2. In a stokerconveyer, in combination, a con- Vveyer including a trough and a spiral conveyer revolubly mounted within the said trough; and a thrust bearing located at the receiving end of said conveyer for receiving the end thrust of said spiral conveyer-in either direction of. rotation thereof, and a door in the bottomwall of said trough adjacentthe delivery endthereof for providing bearing support for the outer periphery of said spiralr conveyer.

3. In a Stoker conveyer, in combination, a conveyer including a trough and a spiral conveyer revolubly mounted within the said trough; and a thrust bearing located at the receiving end of said conveyer for receiving the end thrust of said spiral conveyer in either direction ofrotation thereof, a door in the bottom wall ofrsaid trough adjacent the delivery end thereof -for providing bearing support for the outer periphery of said spiral conveyer, and manually operable means for conveniently opening andclosing said door, said means being located above the floor of said tender.

4. In a locomotive stokerin combination, a fuel hopper having a portion in the form of a trough to receive fuel, a screw conveyer mounted Within said trough and extending longitudinally thereof, the wall of said trough being arranged with reference to the periphery of said conveyer to provide iricreasing clearance space therebetween whichprogressively increases toward the discharge end of said trough without materially adversely affecting the fuel moving capacity or"V said. conveyer, a

ksaid discharge opening and including an axial shaft and a helical vane, a bearing removed from said discharge opening for supporting one end of said shaft, and a bearing member supported outside said hopper and arranged to be moved inwardly through said opening in the hopper wall to engage and provide a bearing for a peripheral portion of said helical vane, and outwardly to relieve clogging of fuel in the hopper,Y the interior cross-sectional area of the hopper increasing progressively in the direction of the discharge opening to increase correspondingly the clearance between said helical vane and the fuel supporting su'rface of said hopper.

6. Fuel feeding apparatus comprising a troughshaped hopper having a discharge opening and an opening in its bottom wall adjacent said discharge opening, a spiral conveyer rotatably mounted in said hopper to advance fuel therethroughtoward said discharge opening and including an axial shaft and a helical vane, a bearing removed from said discharge opening for supporting one end of said shaft, and a bearing member supported outside said hopper and arranged to be moved in- Wardiy through said opening in the hopper wall to engage and provide a bearing for a peripheral portion of said helical vane, and outwardly t'o relieve clogging Aoi? fuel in the hopper, the interior cross-sectional area of the hopper increasing progressively in the direction of the discharge opening to increase correspondingly the clearance between said vane and the fuel supporting surface of said hopper and the cross-sectional area of the axial shaft decreasing in the same direction.

'1. In a locomotive stoker, in combination, a fuel hopper having a portion in the form of a trough having a discharge end, a rotary screw conveyer mounted within said trough and extending longitudinally thereof, a crushing device within said trough adjacent said discharge end, mounting means for mounting said rotary screw conveyer within said trough and for providing clearance space between the `bottom wall of said trough and the loci of all the fuel contacting parts of said f screw conveyer. said clearance space progressively trough.

8. In a crushing and feeding mechanism, located below a floor of a locomotive tender, i'n

combination, a hopper, and a screw conveyer mounted in said hopper; a crushing device mounted within said hopper and (zo-acting with said screw conveyer to crush fuel forced thereagainst by said screw conveyer; and a door in the bottom wall of said hopper, having its inner face projecting inwardly beyond the normal interior surface thereof and oppositev portions of said crushing device whereby in the event of clogging of fuel within the region of said crushing device said door may be opened to relieve the cloggingand the pressure created by said clogging; and manually operable means having a portion extending through the floor of the tender for conveniently opening and closing said door. v

9. In a crushing and feeding mechanism, located beneath the floor of a locomotive tender, in combination, a hopper, a screw conveyer rotatably mounted adjacent the floor of said hopper, a crushing device mounted within said hopper and co-acting with said` screw conveyer to crush fuel forced thereagainst by said screw conveyer, a door hinged to open and close an opening in the floor of said trough approximately beneath said crushing device, manually operable means for readily closing and latching said ,door constructed to afford mechanical advantage to multiply the effect of manual force exerted to close the door, said means being` quickly releasable to open said door about its hinges, and a handle portion extending from said manually operable means for manipulating said means, said handle portion being conveniently located for manual manipulation.

WILLIAM THOMPSON HANNA. 

